Oregon's Lane-Splitting Bill, SB 385, failed to get out of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary by the April 18, 2017 deadline. SB 385 is the same bill as SB 694 (2015), which got out of the same committee unanimously last session and passed the Senate with an 18-10 vote. Proponents of the bill were unable to regain the momentum from last session in the face of renewed opposition, despite improved safety data and worsening traffic conditions in the Portland metro area. Nevertheless, trends indicate that lane-splitting legalization efforts will continue as traffic congestion continues to worsen.

It failed in committee. That said, traffic is so bad in the Portland area that some people are giving our worthless politicians the fingers they deserve and doing it anyway.

That's been happening up here, to the point that the WSP has been doing motorcycle only emphasis patrols. We are finding that riders splitting and filtering are actually hurting the cause because it creates the image that motorcyclists are inherently unsafe lawbreakers. That makes lawmakers less willing to pass laws like this, and makes non riders less willing to support those laws.

...That makes lawmakers less willing to pass laws like this, and makes non riders less willing to support those laws.

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This kind of behavior is prevalent in many areas today, not just motorcycling. Rather than doing the hard work through the system, a sense of entitlement combined with impatience leads to actions without regard for consequences. Few want to do the work to convince lawmakers to make logical changes let alone vote for or against those who are in office. In fact, I doubt that many these days even know who has been elected or what they may stand for. Welcome to the 21st century.

It failed in committee. That said, traffic is so bad in the Portland area that some people are giving our worthless politicians the fingers they deserve and doing it anyway.

What I've seen goes well beyond filtering, it's more like slaloming, and it's done in moving traffic. Even as a biker who takes the occasional liberty when it's completely safe to do so, these guys freak me the shit out when I'm in a car because if I or someone else changes lanes or so much as twitches the wheel while they're blasting through my blind spot I'm going to do what I never want to do: hit a biker. Fuck those guys.

I don't condone illegal lane splitting by any means, but I don't think it's going away. Traffic is ridiculous in Portland (and Seattle), worse than the Bay Area. You can't go anywhere in the Portland area between 6am and 7pm without running into a jam up, even on weekends. At 4am it takes me 20 minutes to get to the airport from Happy Valley. Between 6am and 7pm it takes about 30-35, even on weekends. During a rush hour, 50+, it's faster to go on surface streets through Gresham.

The city council is a bunch of pie-in-the-sky morons who think shrinking all the roads and adding bike lanes will solve the problem, and the state legislature always gets dissuaded by ODOT (which shouldn't be making an argument either way anyway). In short, nobody in power is doing anything to address the traffic problems, so citizens are only going to get more frustrated and take matters into their own hands.

That's been happening up here, to the point that the WSP has been doing motorcycle only emphasis patrols. We are finding that riders splitting and filtering are actually hurting the cause because it creates the image that motorcyclists are inherently unsafe lawbreakers. That makes lawmakers less willing to pass laws like this, and makes non riders less willing to support those laws.

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Sorry, not completely true. If it was, then Marijuana would have never been legalized.

Sorry, not completely true. If it was, then Marijuana would have never been legalized.

No, marijuana has had a growing social acceptance for quite some time. The two issues are drastically different.

And remember that "Project Zero" (or whatever your country, state, city is choosing to call it) that is pushing for zero traffic deaths and injuries, is not only a pet project for SJW leaders but also deems motorcycles as dangerous and unsafe. That means that getting laws passed that benefit motorcyclists fight a very steep uphill battle against what is "socially acceptable."

Exactly! Because everyone grew it, used it (when it was against the law) and eventually....... everyone excepted it. Like I've said before, cops in Seattle eventually turning a blind eye to it.

Until we see a LOT more people choosing to ride motorcycles, and have our society view motorcycles as viable forms of transport, rather than just dangerous toys, you cannot compare the two.

That's how pot is becoming legal, those who wish legalization first made it seem no worse than alcohol. They worked at changing the publics perception.

So again, the first goal is to change the public's perception of motorcycles. Until we do that, we cannot change their perception of lane splitting and filtering.

And, to use your example of pot, they used alcohol as a comparison. They had to get the public to see that it was no different than something similar, that was already socially acceptable. For motorcyclists, our only comparison is automobiles. We have to get the public to see that motorcycles, and motorcyclists, are no worse than cars, and car drivers. To have riders that flagrantly violate traffic laws is counterproductive to that cause.

Also, another benefit that those pushing for legalizing pot is that they can basically bribe governments with the promise.of tax revenue. Money talks. That's something we cannot provide with lane splitting and filtering. We have nothing of real value to offer.